Last week, Russians bid farewell to a man many considered to be the country’s greatest living filmmaker. Largely under-appreciated in the West, Alexei German’s films delighted in their complexity, tones, textured aesthetics, and the absence of simple heroes or villains. Ian Christie remembers him

Director Andrei Konchalovksy and film critic Professor Ian Christie continue a fascinating conversation. In this second part: censorship, the Communists, corruption and civilisation. Part one can be found here

From subversive Soviet art films to Hollywood blockbusters, biting satires on postcommunist Russia to a recent 3D fantasy, director Andrei Konchalovsky has produced an extraordinary and diverse body of work. Ian Christie, meanwhile, is an acknowledged authority on world cinema and Professor of Film at Birkbeck University. At openDemocracy’s request, the two met in London. The conversation, which ranged from Konchalovsky himself to the ethics of art, is an absorbing one. Part 1 of 2.